By It just continues to amaze me why we don’t have long distance high speed rail in the US:
China on Saturday unveiled what it billed as the fastest rail link in the world — a train connecting the modern cities of Guangzhou and Wuhan at an average speed of 350 kilometres (217 miles) an hour.
The super-high-speed train reduces the 1,069 kilometre journey to a three hour ride and cuts the previous journey time by more than seven and a half hours, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Work on the project began in 2005 as part of plans to expand a high-speed network aimed at eventually linking Guangzhou, a business hub in southern China near Hong Kong, with the capital Beijing, Xinhua added.
“The train can go 394.2 kilometres per hour, it’s the fastest train in operation in the world,” Zhang Shuguang, head of the transport bureau at the railways ministry, told Xinhua.
Test runs for the service began earlier in December and the link officially went into service when the first scheduled train left the eastern metropolis of Wuhan on Saturday.
By comparison, the average for high-speed trains in Japan was 243 kilometres per hour while in France it was 277 kilometres per hour, said Xu Fangliang, general engineer in charge of designing the link, according to Xinhua. [AFP]
11:21 pm on December 29th, 2009 1
The funny thing is, most Americans haven't a clue how the rest of the world is passing them right by when it comes to infrastructure. I was in the states couple of years ago, and couldn't help noticing the rotting smelly old airports, bombed out shuttered buildings with graffities, and old roads and bridges in disrepair. Why Americans don't have this kind of train? What for, when they never fail to utter that they are the best country in the world?
4:45 am on December 30th, 2009 2
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4:06 am on December 30th, 2009 3
The U.S. freight train system leads the world, our commercial airline industry leads the world, and our sprawling, low-density automobile infrastructure leads the world despite the potholes and the occasional falling bridge. Our infrastructure bell curve may have peaked decades ago, but high-speed rail development is still not cost-effective based on our current air and auto transportation systems.
4:59 am on December 30th, 2009 4
Why does America have to have the best of everything? Not having them does not make America less great or capable. And it should be perfectly OK for the Americans to realize that the America doesn't have to be the best country in the world (a very subjective topic to begin with).
5:54 am on December 30th, 2009 5
One thing the Chinese did not mention was that this super high speed train was built by Hitachi technology. The train can speed up to over 300k/h when the railroad stretches straight ahead without tunnels. The speed of the train is not entirely due to the train's technology. China's geography allows for these long stretches. Incidentally France also has wide plains on which straight tracks can be built. That is not the case in Korea and Japan.
10:39 am on December 30th, 2009 6
Tom, Korea has the KTX and a great airport but it is also the size of Illinois. There are only 4 countries in the world that have been blessed with land and don't face the sorry living conditions you face in Korea. Deagu, Busan, Ulsan, Daejeon, etc… are dirty cities and all of Korea will always be over crowded. When I travel to Japan I always ask myself why Korea can't get it togeher like the Japanese do, I mean, you both have similar land available but Japan is a far better country than Korea in terms of technolgy and living conditions. I see you posting a lot of negative comments about the States, I am sure all the American's reading your posts can see it is just envy on your part and who can blame you…. Korea will never be a place of paradise and honestly isn't even known to the rest of the world.
1:07 pm on December 30th, 2009 7
"but high-speed rail development is still not cost-effective based on our current air and auto transportation systems."
Exactly, not to say that American airports and roads are the best maintained or most modern, but the system is quite extensive, which is why the US economy is so dependent on cheap oil. But, what will happen when oil is no longer cheap? Remember, 2.5$ a gallon seems high to American consumers, but it's dirt cheap when you compare it to other developed nations.
1:57 pm on December 30th, 2009 8
Next time Tom try someplace other that Detroit.
2:12 pm on December 30th, 2009 9
2:29 pm on December 30th, 2009 10
America does not have the best of everything nor did it ever. What it has had is a vibrant populace who came from all corners of the earth that were given the opportunity to succeed at whatever they desired. As such their creativity has been the envy of the world.
WWII had much to do with a country that was not destroyed, but made much stronger due to its manufacturing capability. Much of that is going away with a stagnant population and a very mature society.
China will become the new America if only because of its population and their recent freedom in capitalism.
The wealth that the US has enjoyed has brought many good things to America. Yet there were always countries that had better this or better that.
But few if any, had better opportunity for an individual to work hard and succeed.